The Flame of Ambition
by Gatorade88
Summary: Everything happens the way it does because of events leading up it. But what if the events that transpired happened only slightly differently? What reality would then occur?
1. Prologue

**A/N: Ho Hum. What to say what to say.**

**First serious fic I've written. And by written, I mean, have in production. What I have so far is just the prologue, or teaser, if you will. As I said in my bio (which you should read if you want an idea of what is to come) I would have something done by the Easter holidays. And when I wrote that, the holidays seemed a lot further away, I'll be honest. In my mind I would have completed the story board and have a chapter or two down. Alas, things did not go that way, as I had little time, when you try and squeeze it all between other small activities. Like school, work, lady-friend, other friends and me being a lazy sod.**

**So while the main story board is not complete (progress is being made at a steady rate, fear not. It will be completed shortly, so I can start on the main body) the beginning is set in stone. So I wrote it, and here it is. For you to enjoy. **

**To be fair, when I say 'I' wrote it, I only wrote about half of it. Most props to Eoin Colfer. And as a nice segue from that, I'm going to put my one and only disclaimer for this entire story in this. So pay attention.**

**Disclaimer - ****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Don't expect another update for a little while. But so you don't forget about little old me, why not subscribe? What's the worst that could happen?**

**In the meantime, feel free to review. If you have something constructive to say, I will try to take it into consideration. As I said, first serious story I've even considered writing, there's bound to be something wrong. **

**Probably won't have another Authors Note unless there's actually something that needs to be brought up. Apart from that, I won't just ramble at the beginning of each chapter.**

**So you don't get confused, this starts at chapter 4 in Artemis Fowl, the first book. It might seem a bit random, but it will make sense to you afterwards hopefully. I also brought some events from the series a wee bit forward. My writing does not start until about 2000 words in. Sorry for making you re-read most of the chapter, but it was necessary.**

**Warning: Future chapters -may- cause rating to go up. I'm uncertain at this point. Quite possibly I will follow in other writers footsteps and upload any sexually explicit material as a separate story. But as far as violence goes, the story will just not flow if you have to read violent sequences separately. Unlike sex scenes, you cannot just say "They proceeded to fight" and skip right over it. We'll see how it goes though.**

**Anyway, you don't care about all that, STORY.**

**Prologue:**

ARTEMIS'S main problem was one of location - how to locate a leprechaun. This was one sly bunch of fairies, hanging around for God knows how many millennia and still not one photo, not one frame of video. Not even a Loch-Ness-type hoax. They weren't exactly a sociable group. And they were smart too. No one had ever got his hands on fairy gold. But no one had ever had access to the Book either. And puzzles were so simple when you had the key.

Artemis had summoned the Butlers to his study, and spoke to them now from behind a mini-lectern.

'There are certain rituals every fairy must complete to renew his magic,' explained Artemis.

Butler and Juliet nodded, as though this were a normal briefing.

Artemis flicked through his hard copy of the Book and selected a passage.

_'From the earth thine power flows,_

Given through courtesy, so thanks are owed.

_Pluck thou the magick seed,_

Where full moon, ancient oak and twisted water meet.

And bury it far from where it was found,

So return your gift into the ground.'

Artemis closed the text. 'Do you see?'

Butler and Juliet kept nodding, while still looking thoroughly mystified.

Artemis sighed. 'The leprechaun is bound by certain rituals. Very specific rituals, I might add. We can use them to track one down.'

Juliet raised a hand, even though she herself was four years Artemis's senior.

'Yes?'

'Well, the thing is, Artemis,' she said hesitantly, twisting a strand of blonde hair in a way that several of the local louts considered extremely attractive. 'The bit about leprechauns.'

Artemis frowned. It was a bad sign. 'Your point, Juliet?'

'Well, leprechauns. You know they're not real, don't you?'

Butler winced. It was his fault really. He'd never got around to filling in his sister on the mission parameters.

Artemis scowled reprovingly at him.

'Butler hasn't already talked to you about this?'

'No. Was he supposed to?'

'Yes, he certainly was. Perhaps he thought you'd laugh at him.'

Butler squirmed. That was exactly what he'd thought. Juliet was the only person alive who laughed at him with embarrassing regularity. Most other people did it once. Just once.

Artemis cleared his throat. 'Let us proceed under the assumption that the fairy folk do exist and that I am not a gibbering moron.'

Butler nodded weakly. Juliet was unconvinced.

'Very well. Now, as I was saying, the People have to fulfil a specific ritual to renew their powers. According to my interpretation, they must pick a seed from an ancient oak tree by the bend in a river. And they must do this during the full moon.'

The light began to dawn in Butler's eyes. 'So all we have to do ...'

'Is run a cross-reference through the weather satellites, which I already have. Believe it or not, there aren't that many ancient oaks left, if you take ancient to be a hundred years plus. When you factor in the river bend and full moon, there are precisely one hundred and twenty-nine sites to be surveyed in this country.'

Butler grinned. Stakeout. Now the Master was talking his language.

'There are preparations to be made for our guest's arrival,' said Artemis, handing a typewritten sheet of A4 to Juliet. 'These alterations must be made to the cellar. See to it, Juliet. To the letter.'

'Yes, Arty.'

Artemis frowned, but only slightly. For reasons that he couldn't quite fathom, he didn't mind terribly when Juliet called him by the pet name his mother had for him.

Butler scratched his chin thoughtfully. Artemis noticed the gesture.

'Query?'

'Well, Artemis. The sprite in Ho Chi Minh City...'

Artemis nodded. 'I know. Why didn't we simply abduct her?'

'Yes, sir.'

'According to Chi Lun's Almanac of the People, a seventh-century manuscript recovered from the lost city of Sh'shamo: "Once a fairy has taken spirits with the Mud People" - that's us, by the way - "they are forever dead to their brothers and sisters." So there was no guarantee that that particular fairy was worth even an ounce of gold. No, my old friend, we need fresh blood. All clear?'

Butler nodded.

'Good. Now, there are several items you will need to procure for our moonlight jaunts.'

Butler scanned the sheet: basic field equipment, a few eyebrow raisers, nothing too puzzling until ...

'Sunglasses? At night?'

When Artemis smiled, as he did now, one almost expected vampire fangs to sprout from his gums. 'Yes, Butler. Sunglasses. Trust me.' And Butler did. Implicitly.

Holly activated the thermal coil in her suit and climbed to 4,000 metres. The Hummingbird wings were top of the range. The battery readout showed four red bars - more than enough for a quick jaunt through mainland Europe and across the British Isles. Of course, the regulations said always travel over water if possible, but Holly could never resist knocking the snowcap from the highest alp on her way past.

The suit protected Holly from the worst of the elements, but she could still feel the chill sinking into her bones. The moon seemed huge from this altitude, the craters on its surface easily distinguishable. Tonight it was a perfect sphere. A magical full moon. Immigration would have their hands full, as thousands of surface-sick fairies were drawn irresistibly overground. A large percentage would make it, probably causing mayhem in their revelry. The earth's mantle was riddled with illegal tunnels and it was impossible to police them all.

Holly followed the Italian coast up to Monaco and from there across the Alps to France. She loved flying, all fairies did. According to the Book, they had once been equipped with wings of their own, but evolution had stripped them of this power. All but the sprites. One school of thought believed that the People were descended from airborne dinosaurs. Possibly pterodactyls. Much of the upper-body skeletal structure was the same. This theory would certainly explain the tiny nub of bone on each shoulder blade.

Holly toyed with the idea of visiting Disneyland Paris. The LEP had several undercover operatives stationed there, most of them working in the Snow White exhibit. It was one of the few places on earth that the People could pass unnoticed. But if some tourist got a photo of her and it ended up on the Internet, Root would have her badge for sure. With a sigh of regret, she passed over the shower of multicoloured fireworks below.

Once over the Channel, Holly flew low, skipping over the white-crested waves. She called out to the dolphins and they rose to the surface, leaping from the water to match her pace. She could see the pollution in them, bleaching their skin white and causing red sores on their backs. And although she smiled, her heart was breaking. Mud People had a lot to answer for.

Finally the coast loomed ahead of her. The old country. Eiriu, the land where time began. The most magical place on the planet. It was here, 10,000 years ago, that the ancient fairy race, the De Danann, had battled against the demon Fomorians, carving the famous Giant's Causeway with the strength of their magical blasts. It was here that the Lia Fail stood, the rock at the centre of the universe, where the fairy kings and later the human Ard Ri were crowned. And it was also here, unfortunately, that the Mud People were most in tune with magic, which resulted in a far higher People-sighting rate than you got anywhere else on the planet. Thankfully the rest of the world assumed that the Irish were crazy, a theory that the Irish themselves did nothing to debunk. They had somehow got it into their heads that each fairy lugged around a pot of gold with them wherever they went. While it was true that LEP had a ransom fund, because of its officers' high-risk occupation, no human had ever taken a chunk of it yet. This didn't stop the Irish population in general from skulking around rainbows, hoping to win the supernatural lottery.

But in spite of all that, if there was one race the People felt an affinity for it was the Irish. Perhaps it was their eccentricity, perhaps their dedication to the craic, as they called it. And if the People were actually related to humans, as another theory had it, odds on it was the Emerald Isle where it started.

Holly punched up a map on her wrist locator and set it to sweep for magical hotspots. The best site would obviously be Tara, near the Lia Fail, but on a night like tonight, every traditionalist fairy with an overground pass would be dancing around the holy scene, so best to give it a miss.

There was a secondary site not far from here, just off the south-east coast. Easy access from the air, but remote and desolate for land-bound humans. Holly reined in the throttle and descended to eighty metres. She skipped over a bristling evergreen forest, emerging in a moonlit meadow. A silver thread of river bisected the field and there, nestling in the fold of a meander loop, was the proud oak.

Holly checked her locator for life forms. Once she judged the cow two fields over not to be a threat, she cut her engines and glided to the foot of the mighty tree.

Four months of stakeout. Even Butler, the consummate professional, was beginning to dread the long nights of damp and insect bites. Thankfully, the moon was not full every night.

It was always the same. They would crouch in their foil-lined hide in complete silence, Butler repeatedly checking his equipment, while Artemis stared unblinking through the eye of the scope. At times like these, nature seemed deafening in their confined space. Butler longed to whistle, to make conversation, anything to break the unnatural silence. But Artemis's concentration was absolute. He would brook no interference or lapse of focus. This was business.

Tonight they were in the south-east. The most inaccessible site yet. Butler had been forced to make three trips to the jeep in order to hump the equipment across a stile, a bog and two fields. His boots and trousers were ruined. And now he would have to sit in the hide with ditchwater soaking into the seat of his trousers. Artemis had somehow contrived to remain spotless.

The hide was ingenious in design and interest had already been expressed in the manufacturing rights - mostly by military representatives - but Artemis had resolved to sell the patent to a sporting-goods multinational. It was constructed of an elasticated foil polymer on a multi-hinged fibreglass skeleton. The foil, similar to that used by NASA, trapped the heat inside the structure while preventing the camouflaged outside surface from overheating. This ensured that any animals sensitive to heat would be unaware of its presence. The hinges meant that the hide would move almost like a liquid, filling whatever depression it was dropped into. Instant shelter and vantage point. You simply placed the Velcroed bag in a hole and pulled the string.

But all the cleverness in the world couldn't improve the atmosphere. Something was troubling Artemis. It was plain in the web of premature lines that spread from the corners of his deep-blue eyes.

After several nights of fruitless surveillance, Butler plucked up enough courage to ask ...

'Artemis,' he began hesitantly, 'I realize it's not my place, but I know there's something wrong. And if there's anything I can do to help ...'

Artemis didn't speak for several moments. And for those few moments, Butler saw the face of a young boy. The boy Artemis might have been.

'It's my mother, Butler,' he said at last. 'I'm beginning to wonder if she'll ever -'

Then the proximity alarm flashed red.

Holly hooked the wings over a low branch, unstrapping the helmet to give her ears some air. You had to be careful with elfin ears - a few hours in the helmet and they started to flake. She gave the tips a massage. No dry skin there. That was because she had a daily moisturizing regime, not like some of the male LEP officers. When they took off their helmets, you'd swear it had just started to snow.

Holly paused for a minute to admire the view. Ireland certainly was picturesque. Even the Mud People hadn't been able to destroy that. Not yet anyway...Give them another century or two. The river was folding gently before her like a silver snake, hissing as the water tumbled across a stony bed. The oak tree crackled overhead, its branches rasping together in the bracing breeze.

Now, to work. She could do the tourist thing all night once her business was complete. A seed. She needed a seed. Holly bent to the ground, brushing the dried leaves and twigs from the clay's surface. Her fingers closed around a smooth acorn. That wasn't hard now, was it? she thought. All that remained for her to do was plant it somewhere else and her powers would come rushing back.

Butler checked the porta-radar, muting the volume in case the equipment betrayed their position. The red arm swept the screen with agonizing lethargy, and then...Flash! An upright figure by the tree. Too small for an adult, the wrong proportions for a child. He gave Artemis the thumbs-up. Possible match.

Artemis nodded, strapping the mirrored sunglasses across his brow. Butler followed his lead, popping the cap on his weapon's starlight scope. This was no ordinary dart rifle. It had been specially tooled for a Kenyan ivory hunter and had the range and rapid-fire capacity of a Kalashnikov. Butler had picked it up for a song from a government official after the ivory poacher's execution.

They crept into the night with practised silence. The diminutive figure before them unhooked a contraption from around its shoulders and lifted a full-face helmet from a definitely non-human head. Butler wrapped the rifle strap twice around his wrist, pulling the stock into his shoulder. He activated the scope and a red dot appeared in the centre of the figure's back. Artemis nodded and his manservant squeezed the trigger.

In spite of a million to one odds, it was at that precise moment that the figure bent low to the earth.

Something whizzed over Holly's head, something that glinted in the starlight. Holly had enough on-the-job experience to realize that she was under fire, and immediately dived for where she had discarded her helmet and wings, sweeping them up mid roll and fell through a clump of bushes and out the other side.

Artemis nearly cursed at their luck, but chose instead to use his mouth to bark a command to Butler to capture the figure.

Holly's head was in a spin, as she struggled to attach her wings while running with a helmet under her arms. Who could be firing at her, and why? Was this the first step to human discovery of the people? Centuries of living under the humans feet in secret and peace, all to come crashing down? Holly could not stay to consider the possibilities of why she was under fire; she glanced behind her and spotted the silhouette of a human of un-Godly proportions. She did not believe she would last long trying to escape from that one on foot. With one last pull she got the wings onto her back and humming to life. Just as she got a foot off of the ground, she felt the foliage around her snapping and whizzing under automatic fire from the poachers dart gun. Jamming her helmet over her head while in mid flight, she heard a very obvious 'THUNK!' as one of the darts collided with the helmet. Ears ringing, Holly opened the throttle and jetted out of the overhang of leaves.

Swerving back around, Holly climbed to a safe distance and activated the camera feed through her helmet. Zooming in on the clearing, she spotted two figures. One huge figure, the one who had chased and fired at her no doubt, and a smaller human. If Holly didn't know better, she'd say that the second human was merely a child, but dismissed the thought. She could not get any closer to get pick up any details of the two people in the clearing. Under normal circumstances, Holly would have kept her distance and followed the figures under the protection of the shield. Unfortunately, certain events had prevented her from completing the ritual, and as a result, no shields. And she didn't not want to take her chances following these humans unshielded. Instead, she opted to fly away from the ritual site as fast as the top of the line wings would carry her, while she tried to get in contact with home to report the disastrous events to the appropriate figures of authority.

Artemis was fuming. He had been so close. So close to uncovering an entirely new race of sentient beings living on, no, in earth. Pure luck was the only reason there was not an unconscious fairy lying in the boot of the Jeep they were currently traversing in. The mood in the Jeep was very dark, with neither employer or employee saying a word.  
>Just as they pulled up the manor drive, Butler opened his mouth to say something<p>

"Artemis…"

But just as he did so, a beep emitted from his young master. An email, marked as utmost importance. Fishing out the mobile from his pocket, Artemis Fowl the second frowned at the screen on the device.

Butler waited for his charge to say something, but as they reached the top of the drive, still without a peep from Artemis, Butler spoke up.

"What is it sir?"

Artemis remained silent as the 4x4 idled in front of the manor, until he looked up to his huge manservant.

"It's my father. He's alive"


	2. Timeline

**Authors Note: Rather than having an A/N at the top of every chapter, look to the bottom of my profile for various tidbits and thoughts about the chapters. Don't want to clutter up the story. You don't have the read them.  
>Re-uploaded due to very important typo. <strong>

**2001** – Artemis Fowl the Second fails in an attempt to capture a fairy.

Artemis Fowl the Second discovers his father, Artemis Fowl the First, is alive and is being held by the Russian mafiya.

**2002** – Artemis Fowl launches 20 man rescue party to take his father back. 8 return.

Lower Elements Police become aware of illegal power source trading.

B'Wa Kell uprising ensues. LEP left crippled. Opal Koboi supplies the Lower Elements with the technology and funds to rebuild.

**2003** – Instability in human global market causes share prices worldwide to drop.

Opal Koboi stated as official supplier and technical advisor of entire Lower Elements.

**2004** – Artemis Fowl the First wakes up from coma in an unstable medical condition

Unemployment hits all time high worldwide. Rioting breaks out in major cities in Europe, America and Asia.

Suspicion begins to mount against Opal Koboi.

Artemis Fowl the First dies in hospital.

Angeline Fowl commits suicide shortly after.

**2005** – Riots break out in lower elements in an attempt to relinquish Opal Koboi of her power.

Civil war breaks out in the Lower Elements out between Council loyalists with the LEP and Opal Koboi's corrupt LEP, Sided by B'Wa Kell

Fowl Industries launched in the private market.

Phonetix, Fission Chips, Nokia, Apple, Blackberry and LG and various other phone and computer manufacturer's share prices take a very steep, unexpected drop.

**2006 – **Haven in ruins. Battle continues raging. Most civilians flee to Atlantis and other smaller settlements.

Artemis Fowl the Second continues his fairy research, but takes a different direction.

Opal Koboi seizes Haven and leaves what remains of the LEP and Loyalists to flee to outlying regions.

The Fowl fortune is returned to it's billion dollar status.

**2007 – **Giovanni Zito announces plan to send a probe to the centre of the earth.

Fowl Industries is main backer for technology and funding.

**2008 – **Fowl Industries goes public. Share prices skyrocket overnight. A new R and D department opens with its main focus on advanced weaponry.

Zito Probe released into earth.

All leading technology and communications companies go bankrupt against Fowl Industries.

The crippled state of Haven fails to warn against the incoming threat. Zito Probe breaks through outer wall of Haven.

Fairys uncovered.

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**Present Day**

**2011 – **A rebellion group emerges in Haven out of remaining LEPL, lead by ex-commander Julius Root and armed and funded by Fowl Industries, sets out to retake Haven.


	3. One:  Unfortunate Ties

**Chapter One – Unfortunate Ties**

**Dublin – 2011, present day**

Less than a decade ago, it would not have seemed a curious sight to see an expensive town car to glide through the streets of Dublin. But in such times, a sight such as this brought hush to the dozens of rag clad pedestrians that littered the streets these years.

The gap between the extremely rich and extreme poverty was growing increasingly larger, with little to fill the space in between. Not that this particularly concerned the billionaire businessman sitting in the back of the modified Bentley Mulsanne. These people had found themselves in this situation, he justified to himself, it may have been him, nearly entirely, that had put them in such a state, but those who were unprepared for such a drastic change in the global economy deserved what they got.

The European motor purred through the streets on the way to possibly the most important and profitable business deal of Artemis Fowl the Second's life. He really did detest venturing through the filth and poverty that surrounded him, but knew that some things were just a fact of life. No matter how much yours was worth.

Fowl sighed, and turned away from the window, and returned his attention back to the monitor before him. He had a meeting to arrange.

**Slums – Haven**

"You know I don't agree with this commander."

The atmosphere in the command shack was tense at the best of times, but right now, the air was nearly as thick as mud.

"When you have another proposition to bring to the table, Short, I would love to toss this plan in the compactor, but as it is, we are out of options!" Root's face was too worn out from too many battles, too much fighting, to bring out his characteristic violent red complexion, but Major Short knew under better circumstances he would have earned his old nickname 'Beetroot'. "The humans may be bloodthirsty violent primitives, but right now, that's exactly what we need! And besides, from the little we know about this Mud Man, the technology he has at his disposal would wager against our own."  
>Holly remained unconvinced. Since the Mud Men's discovery of The People 3 years prior, it had been nothing but a hindrance to the LEPL's cause to take back what was left of Haven. But she knew better than to argue with the ex-commander.<p>

"When are we supposed to meet with this Mud Welp then?" She inquired bitterly.

"We've received no word from him yet. Our intel tells us it will probably be at any one of these shuttleports, long abandoned, but until we get a go ahead from the human, we'll have no idea exactly where he'll want us to be."  
>"Gives him the upper hand immediately then. I don't like this. It could be a trap."<br>The ex-commander sighed. "You're being too dramatic Holly. Half a dozen dead fairies are of no value to any human."  
>Holly hated the idea of it, but she knew that he superior, even in these times, was correct. A fairy-human alliance was the only way they had any hope of reclaiming the mess and ruins that Haven city once stood on.<p>

"Sir!" Called out one of the technical sprites from the computer banks. "We've received contact from the human. The message is "E12D0100"  
>"Chute E12, port D at 0100 hours… D'Arvit!" Root said as he checked his monometer. "That's half an hour from now! Get the shuttles fired up and cover our exit!" He yelled to the techies controlling their makeshift disguised shuttle bay constructed out of half a dozen shacks in the slums. "And you!" He barked at Holly and the four other soldiers in the 'War Room'. "Get suited up and armed. We're making the deal of the century tonight, and nothing can ruin it!"<p>

While his men, and women, were rushing around, equipping themselves with the firepower and armour that was necessity for walking outside the door of the makeshift LEPL command post and into the battleground that was the fairy city, Root wondering whether this really was the way to be going. Trusting a human with their future.

**Wicklow – Ireland**

Artemis Fowl the Second stepped out of the black town car and into the mountainous terrain of County Wicklow. He spent only a moment looking around, taking in the site, before walking to the front of the car, and instructing the driver to wait, and not move an inch until he had returned. With his bodyguard emerging from the passenger side of the Bentley, Artemis turned, and headed into the woods by the side of the road, of which the hidden entrance to Port D was hidden.

**Chute 12**

The Lower Elements Police and Loyalists had a fleet of just 5 shuttles. More than one of them could only generously be called a shuttle, closer resembling scrap metal given the gift of flight.

The Shuttle that held the six soldiers was not one of these. Nothing could go wrong on this mission, and the commander himself was going.

The shuttle they rode in was the flagship of the 'fleet'. It was possibly the more expensive and technologically advanced than the entirety of the LEPL. It was originally a prototype from Koboi labs that was captured by the resistance in the early days of the war. Opal had been ever so cross. She had spent the past thirty years drone mining within 300km of the earth's core to acquire the amount of stealth ore needed to build an entire shuttle. To build another would probably require mining on other planets. Once the LEPL had gotten a hold of it, it was immediately stripped down by the centaur Foaly and his tech team, removing all of the communications systems, and anything that could be used to trace it by Opal Koboi, and completely refitted and upgraded it. The weapons system was second to none, not even matched by the attack shuttles of the LEP and B'wa Kell. It had the computational power onboard to match and surpassed the power of the human supercomputer Tianhe-1.

In the last 6 years, the shuttle had been used only twice. The first time was as the spearhead of a 14 shuttle attack group that brought down the Police Plaza in late 2005. The second time was in a search and rescue mission to find and extract Major Kelp's fire team from the Chute War in early 2005. Three out of the five shuttles that went into E45 made it out before the entire chute came down. Major Kelp's team was never seen.

This time it wasn't nearly as dramatic. Hopefully. A simple rendezvous with a prospective financial backer sympathetic to the cause of the LEPL and then back again. Nothing that should get the attention of Opal's probes and patrols.

Holly Short was at the 'wheel' of the shuttle, flying it at breakneck speeds. Possibly faster than could possibly be manoeuvred in the chute, but this didn't seem to slow her down. She felt right at home, completely in her zone, when she was flying. Wings or shuttle. And flying a bird such as this was less than once in a lifetime. There was little talking among the passengers. Some might say the mood was sombre from the war and in anticipation of the events soon to unfold. It would probably be more accurate to say that each passenger was afraid that opening their mouth might result in the head being crushed from pressure loss at the high speeds.

They all felt relief spread over them when they notice an obvious decline in velocity, as the Major at the wheel approached the shuttle port.

**Port D**

Artemis glanced at his outrageously expensive watch yet again. He had sent the message nearly forty-five minutes ago, they had missed the deadline.

He pushed a hand through his normally well kept hair, giving it a rare ruffled look, betraying his feelings about this particular meeting. He needed this to go perfectly. So much rested upon it.  
>Artemis glanced towards the shuttle bay door when he heard a dull 'thunk' of metal on concrete. He pushed his hair back into it's usual order, letting an easy smile fall onto his lips, just as the bay door hissed open to reveal 6 small figures in black tactical gear, brandishing dangerous looking rifles and handguns.<p>

"Artemis Fowl, I presume. And a pet guard?" Said the fairy at the forward of the little procession while approaching the humans. "Commander Julius Root" He replied, with a hand extended. "A pleasure to meet you. And this is my security, Jackson" Root took the large human hand in his own small, but very rough hand, and gave a full shake, while eying the larger human by his side.

Major Holly Short was eyeing the Mud Man in front of her. She did not trust him one bit. He looked devious and cunning, not someone that you'd want to make a deal with. But there was something else about him…

I'd prefer if we skipped any pleasantries you have planned human, and we just cut to the chase." asked Root.

"Of course Commander, time is a valuable commodity, especially in times such as these. Please, come this way."  
>The human led the fairies through the main floor of the shuttle port and into one of the offices where he had already set up his computer.<p>

"Kelp, Vein, keep watch over the shuttle. It's more indispensible than the both of you!"

The two soldiers turned and jogged back to the landing pad.

"And now, to business." Said Fowl, as he took a seat at the head of the table. "It would seem that you are in most dire times, commander. It's obvious that you would not have come to me, had you any other option. I appreciate how hard it must be, for the mighty fairies to ask for the help from a primitive 'Mud Man'. And I thank you, for at least coming to hear my offer."  
><em>He's patronising us.<em> Thought Holly, while she was staring at the human in front of her. He was impeccably dressed. The clothes on his body probably costing more than an entire household in Europe made in a decade. His demeanour was screaming with confidence, from his lazy half opened eyes to a cold, vampiric smile. How could they be sure this human could be trusted?

The ex-commander seemed to notice this condescending undertone, as the vein that lay long dormant in his temple gave a dull twitch.

"Yes." Grunted Root, as he pulled out a fungus cigar. "Dire situation indeed. Am I right in thinking this is your first direct contact with The People?"  
>Holly's training in behavioural quirks ensured she didn't miss Fowl's eyes flicker to her for less than an instant "Nearly." He replied cryptically.<p>

Root didn't seem concerned by this comment, but it caused the Major to stare at the human.  
><em>Something about him… <em>

"I trust that you have researched me, commander, as well as my company?"

"Indeed we have, human. Very impressive biography you've built for yourself. And only 22? You've been busy Fowl."

"Indeed. In any case, you know the proposition I have for you? I can give you not just gold, which has little value to you in your current situation, but other resources. I can supply you with food, water, guns, I can even give you the parts to construct more shuttles."  
>At this Root looked very tempted. Shuttles and guns… They were what they really needed. But was he just being twisted by the serpent into taking a bite out of the fruit…<p>

"What's in it for you? I've never even heard of a Mud Man that did something for nothing. Let alone something so costly."

"Think of it as an investment, commander. I'll make sure that you're the winning force of this war. In return, once you've reclaimed your rightful place in Haven, I expect that I will be glorified for my contribution to restoring Haven. There might even be medals."

At this, Holly spoke up. "It doesn't seem like you're one with much concern as to the public."

Fowl smiled back at her. A smile that made her ears twitch. "And you would be correct. I want technology. You fairies have quite a way with technology that leaves humans in the stone-age by comparison. All I want is a taste."

"We can't agree to that, Fowl." Root put in. "Our technology is the only thing that's stopping the humans committing genocide!"

"I don't think you have a choice. Commander."

Roots vein gave a little bit more life into his throb.

"Without my support," Fowl continued, "you won't last long."

Root knew this was his only option.

"Fine." He said, as he extended his hand to the man, and in doing so, created the first bond the fairies had had with humans for millennia. A momentous occasion.

After three hours of discussion into the details of the support that Fowl would provide, and a set of schematics for shuttles provided by the LEPL techies given to Artemis, the historic meeting ended.

Once back in the safety of the shuttle, Holly voiced the thoughts she'd kept within her through the duration of the meeting. "commander, I…"  
>Root turned to her and looked her dead in the face, heat rising to his cheeks, his once famous complexion making a return.<p>

"D'Arvit Short! I know how you feel about this, and I would be lying if I said I liked it either! But the fact is we're out of options and Fowl has the gold and the power to give us the advantage in this! I won't hear any more of your complaints _and that is an order_!"

Holly knew it would be very unwise to say anything more, and returned her attention to flying the shuttle back to headquarters.

upon they reached the exit to downtown Haven, Holly tried to get in touch with the command centre, but received no reply.

"Commander, we have dead comms to home."

"Must be flares acting up. But go in slowly Short." The ex-commander warned.

As the sleek shuttle whispered through the air above the slums of Haven, Holly noticed a far off blur in the distance. She squinted her eyes to try and get a better picture of what she was looking at.

"Gods, no… Commander! Look, over there!"

Root visibly paled at the sight that could be just made out over the expanse of poorly constructed dwellings. "Smoke… You don't think…?"  
>Holly opened all communications lines for just a few seconds, knowing that it would give their position away to the enemy's sensors, but in those few seconds she got all the information she needed. "We've been tracked! Get out commander, get out!"<p>

Holly didn't bother waiting around, and switched off the comms, and gunned the engines back into the chute. A single loud beep came through the console, and a message came up on the screen. The comms had been traced.


	4. Two: Unexpected Accomodation

**As usual, Authors Note can be found at bottom of my profile.**

**Chapter Two – Unexpected Accommodation**

**Slums – Haven**

"D'Arvit!" Yelled the Major, as she took a firmer grip on the shuttle controls as she flipped the shuttle around to point back into the chute, the way it came.

"Get on the secure comms to the other points, make sure they get out!" Barked the commander from behind her, betraying various laws of physics by remaining standing after such evasive flying maneuvers.

Major Short punched a code into the comms screen to bring up a secure line with the outer lying LEPL locations.

"This is Major Holly Short with Commander Root. We have been uncovered. This is an evacuation notice. I repeat, Evacuation. Regroup in Port D in chute E12. And hurry!"

Holly turned to her very stoic faced commander.

"What are your orders, commander? Where do we go?"

Root stood still for a few more moments before replying.

"Fowl. Get onto Fowl. We need his help."

Short could tell how much it pained her commander to give the instruction. It pained her even more to follow through with it. They had already accepted too much assistance from that particular Mud-Man to make her fool comfortable.

The Major took up the communicator that Fowl had left them with before they parted ways and entered the code to acquire a secure line to the Mud-Man.

"Fowl!" She called into it once it connected. "We've been outed. We nee-"

She was cut off by the human's smooth tone coming through the communicator.

"_I'm aware of the situation. I've picked it all up on my own sensors. Get back to Port D. We're on our way_." And with that, closed the line.

The major piloting the shuttle through the veritable maze of chutes muttered to herself something about rude Mud-Men, before rounding the corner to the last straight before the port.

"Prepare to disembark!" The commander yelled to the fairies in the back, holding their stomachs and heads.

The pod bay doors opened before them, giving the impressive looking shuttle barely enough room to fit through into the main port.

"Dead ahead." Ordered the commander. "Focus all weapon dead ahead. Punch a hole right through to the surface."

Short was more than happy to comply. Sending a barrage of missiles and lasers straight into the wall of the port. Within a few seconds, the darkness of the night could be glimpsed through the quickly widening hole.

Behind them, two more shuttles, painted in the LEPL black and grey emerged from the chute. One sporting some impressive looking fresh holes in the side.

"That's Delta and Bravo station's transport sir." Said the Major to her commander.

The short range comms buzzed to life. "_Delta and Bravo reporting sir. We have survivors from your Alpha post as well. We have had no communication with Gamma or Omega. Presumed captured or worse."_

"D'Arvit." Short proclaimed before answering through the comms. "Affirmative. We will be seeking refuge on the surface. Follow our lead."

And with that, she eased the shuttle forward. Just scraping through the newly made exit to the surface.

Once they had broken through to the other side, she steered slowly to the clearing sitting by the short dirt road.

"Where is that Mud-Welp. He said he would be coming?"

Before the words had fully left her mouth, a moving light became visible from around the bend in the road. A sleek black town car came around. Followed by a procession of four large black SUVs. Two sporting some lethal looking equipment on the roof. Presumably some sort of Mud-Man weaponry.

The convey stopped just next to the clearing where the Commander's shuttle hovered beside the other two, somewhat less impressive shuttles.

All of the car doors opened, letting out two well dressed men, Fowl and his protection, from the town car, and a dozen other men fitted with dark tactical gear and large guns from the SUVs.

"Commander Root and Major Short, you are to ride with me. All the others, follow from the air. We must be quick. They are coming."

Holly Short activated the PA on the shuttle to respond.

"Not a chance Fowl. We're staying in here. You lead the way."

Fowl frowned towards the shuttle, although he could not make out the occupants through the blacked out screen.

"This is not up for debate. You are riding with me."

The Commander's new found life in his temple gave yet another dull throb. Although just a little stronger than the last.

"Bloody Mud-Men." He then leaned over the Major to speak through the PA. "Fine. We're on our way out."

He stood to leave, and shouted at Ash Vein to take the pilot's seat.

Holly stood up to confront the commander. "Sir, you cannot be serious! We need to stay right here, in this shu-"

"D'Arvit Short! Time! We have none of it! We just need to do what he says for now! _Order!_"

And with that, he opened the door to the side of the shuttle and departed into the clearing, soon followed by a grumbling Major.

The Mud-Man gave a spine tingling smirk as they approached the black car, but was soon replaced with the picture of complete seriousness.

"We need to get going. My sensors have picked up what looks to be half a dozen drones and a few Goblin Needlers."

Fowl moved around to the other side of the vehicle, opening the door for himself and bending down and into the car. The Man's manservant, Jackson, held the door open for the two fairies, who begrudgingly climbed in.

What the found inside was a very impressive sight. The Bentley Mulsanne had been modified to fit another bank of seats facing directly to the original row. In-between the two rows of seats sat a short table piled with an array of different monitors and controls. One which appeared to display a complete layout of Haven, live updated with moving shapes of different sizes and colours.

Fowl, sitting across from them, gave them another of his vampire-like smirks. "Impressive, isn't it?"

"Aren't we in some sort of hurry?" Huffed the Commander.

"Of course." Replied the human. "Jackson, take us back to the manor. As quickly as possible."

With that, the car started to move down the road, followed by the four SUVs. If Holly leaned to see up out of the window, she could make out the shapes of the three shuttles following them from above the tree canopy against the dark of the night sky.

Fowl busied himself with one of the monitors in front of him. "The drones are one hundred metres from the port. This will probably get a bit interesting."

Both the Commander and the Major sitting across from him had a vague idea of what could be meant by 'interesting' but decided not to say anything.

The man pressed a button on the table in front of him and sent instruction through to the other vehicle in the convoy.

"We are expecting hostile forces to be at our position within a minute. Airborne. Minimal shields, standard ammunition should suffice."

He received four "Affirmative's" before shutting off the line and looking towards his guests.

"I do advise you put on your seatbelts for this next part of the journey."

The Major and Commander quickly busied themselves with attaching their bodies a bit firmer to the seats.

Above them, in the Flagship shuttle, Ash Vein looked at the sensors with some worry on his face. He activated the short range comms to the other shuttles.

"This is Captain Vein. We're are being approached by at least ten hostiles. Activate all shields and prepare any weapons. Contact expected in 30 seconds."

At that, the first of the sleek, metallic, bullet shaped drones flew past without more than a hiss of the air.

"Contact! We have contact ahead!"

Down below in the convoy of cars, two of Artemis Fowl's personal army manned their roof mounted 50. machine guns.

The next drone flew past the cars, no more than two metres above the road.

"Open fire!" Yelled the man at the head of the SUV line.

The mounted guns unleashed a veritable storm of lead upon the low passing drone, the large bullets crashing into the side as it came back for a second pass, throwing it into the group of trees, crumpling like tin foil at the speeds it made contact at.

"That was just a recon I presume." Said Artemis, to the two fairies sharing his luxurious Bentley. "The next ones will be a lot less hospitable."

True to his predictions, the next two of the drones to come up to the convoy were staying back, keeping just behind the last car in the line. One without a mounted 50. on top.

These drones didn't hold back with their attacks, sending out beams of high powered lasers at the SUV in front of them.

The SUV, built for these types of attacks, was taking the laser blasts in stride, continuing to power down the winding dirt road through County Wicklow. The rear window of the SUV came down to reveal a huge, six barreled gun pointing out the back.

The drones didn't have time to fly out of the way before the barrels starting winding up to speed, before unleashing a 4000 round-per-minute wave of lead right at the drones, which were torn apart like paper under the minigun's onslaught.

Above this vehicular battle on the read, the shuttles above were in a similar situation. Two more drones were circling around the shuttles, unleashing bursts of lasers, crashing into the shuttles shields, and rocking the inhabitants inside.

Captain Greener, piloting one of the shuttles in the fleet was having a hard time keeping his in the air. He couldn't take much more of this attack.

"Reeves!" He called to the back. "Are the missiles online?"

"Affirmative sir! But the tracking sensors have been knocked out. We've only got manual firing online!"

"Just perfect. I'll have to do this the old fashioned way."

He swiped through the Multi Readout Display in front of him to prep the missiles for firing. He then stared dead ahead. Waiting for the moment. With the tracking offline, his timing would have to be perfect.

A drone buzzed past and he took his chance. Sending the first missile blasting towards the drone. His timing off by less than a millisecond as the explosive scraped the side of the metallic drone, tearing a gash down the side and throwing it spinning, but quickly correcting itself, the missile flying off course, exploding harmlessly into a tree in the expanse of green below them.

"D'Arvit!" yelled Greener, as he prepared the next missile for firing. He couldn't miss this time. Or him and his crew would be going down.

As the next drone flew towards them, sending burst after burst of bright light towards them, he took the moment and let the rocket fly.

This time his aim was true. The airborne explosive colliding with the drone a mere 10 metres from the shuttle, morphing the missile and drone into little more than melted rubble and a ball of fire. The shuttle flew through the explosion, coming through the other end a little worse for wear, with a few panels coming loose or coming off completely. The vision in front of the front screen cleared just in time to see the shuttle at the head of the group blowing up the other drone out of the air.

Down closer to ground level, Artemis Fowl watched the monitor in front of him intently.

"We've got two more kilometers to Fowl Manor. We'll be safe there. But there are still two B'Wa Kell Needlers and a drone coming towards us."

Coming towards them they were, as the unmanned drone and the Goblin piloted Needlers came flying towards the convoy.

The rear SUVs minigun wound up, bursting free another round of lethal metal. The three attackers quickly outmaneuvered the stream of lead, and flew to either side of the SUV. The passenger window came down and the man, brandishing an FI SMG, based on the same design as the H&K UMP 45, with a few added surprises, opened fire towards the cockpit of the small, one man Needler.

The wide bullets punched through the cockpit's screen, smashing through the Goblin's head, bursting into a flourish of blood and flames, before the craft crumpled into the road , crashing to a halt in a large oak by the side.

Before similar action could be taken to the Needler on the other side of the SUV, a blast of molten plasma burst from its cannon, crashing into the side of the truck, melting through the reinforced panels and throwing the car on its side and off the road.

"_Caleb is down! I repeat, Caleb is down!"_

Artemis frowned at the comms. He looked up to his fellow car goers. "We're just less than one kilometer to the manor. Hopefully we can get the rest of our friends there safely."

This was easier said than done as the shuttles above flying above the convoy as they broke out of the tree line, now on a clean path towards the hill playing host to the huge manor, as the last drone was taking shots at Captain Greener's shuttles, and making quite a bit of progress.

"We have two more hits in us captain, after that our defences are wide open to any attacks!" Called out Corporal Reeves from the back, monitoring the shuttle's shields and sensors.

As if on cue, two booming knocks sent the shuttle shuddering, as the drone flew past.

"Shit!" The seriousness of the situation causing Greener to resort to Mud-Man curses. Into the comms he yelled "Shields down! I repeat shields do-"

He never got a chance to finish his report, as the drone came around for another attack, blowing straight through the cockpit of the shuttle and demolishing the entire interior of the shuttle, before punching a hole through the rear. With no pilot or working parts, what was left of the shuttle collided with the Irish hillside at a high speed, turning the remaining shuttle into un-salvageable scrap.

"_Delta is down! Repeat! Delta is down!"_ Root nearly broke the speaker that dared pass on this ill news, but a glare from Fowl placated him for the moment.

The Remaining Needler continued to play a dangerous game of dodge-ball with the SUV in front of it. Each taking turns to let out a burst of plasma so bullets respectively while the other tried to move out of its way in time.

"We can't keep this up much longer!" exclaimed the driver through the comms ts the other trucks "Is there anything you can do?"

"_Negative. We can't risk firing on it with it so close to you. Just hold out a few more moments, were nearly at the gates!"_

What remained of the ground and air convoy speed up the drive to the open gates to the grounds of Fowl Manor, followed closely by the remaining drone and Needler. As they got closer to the property boundaries, multiple Fowl Industries Ground To Anything Missile pods mounted in the towers along the huge wall pivoted and swiveled to face the oncoming threat.

The moment the cars and shuttle crossed the line of the border to Fowl's property, and the Needler and drone foolishly attempted to follow, the FIGTAMs unleashed a blazing fury of a bad day upon them, quickly reducing them to flame and dust.

Once safely inside the grounds, the car convoy pulled into the huge garage by side of the manor, while the two remaining shuttles made themselves comfortable on the adjoining helipads.

Fowl turned to his two fellow car travelers.

"Well." He said, looking somewhat relieved, but otherwise no worse for wear. "All's well that ends well."

That earned him a whack on the head by Major Short.

The remaining of Fowl's personal soldiers gathered, and retreated off towards the resident barracks on the property, recently built 100 metres from the main building. What was left of the fairies on the other hand, stood around torn between whether to stand around awkwardly, waiting for fowl to finish his discussion with one of the manor servants, or mourn their fallen comrades, and somehow managed to pull of both.

Once he was done with the servant, leaving him to scurry away to complete whatever task he had assigned, he approached the cluster of 15 fairies.

"Your accommodation will be prepared for you in just a moment. You'll be sharing one room between two of you in the guest wing."

At this, Holly Short looked around, noting that now she was the only female left, as the only other had perished along with the rest of Delta squad. She pushed aside the sudden grief that struck her at acknowledgment of their demise, there was time enough later.

"Errr..." Was just about all she managed to get out. Fowl looked at her and smiled his vampire smile.

"Not to worry Major Short. I've prepared the second master bedroom for you.

Now, if you'll please all follow me through to the house. It's late, and we have a lot to discuss in the morning."

He sent the LEPL soldiers off with his servants to show them to their rooms, while leading Major Short to the upper wing of the house to where her accommodation was.

She was not pleased to be staying so close to the Mud-Man. Not trusting him for one moment and wishing she could at least go back to being various layers of earth away from him. But as the Commander had pointed out multiple times, they didn't have any options, and all they could do was follow the lead of this human. For now at least.

Artemis stopped by a large mahogany door encrusted with the Fowl family seal and turned to Short.

"Here we are. I trust you'll be comfortable." He opened the door and gestured for her to enter. "If there's anything you need, just pick up the bedside phone and press 1 to call for a servant. Please refrain from any outgoing calls though keeping in mind that all calls to and from this property are recorded. And please keep from roaming the manor on your own. You will be woken at nine sharp. Have a good night"

And with that he promptly closed the door in Short's scowling face.

The Major looked around to take in her surroundings. She was in a huge room. Bigger than a small flat back in Haven. Everything screamed of money, old and new. The sparsely placed furniture with it's handcrafted wood and rich velvet cushions. The fireplace with it's gold trim on the mantle. And the enormous four poster bed against the wall to her left. Upon which, Holly noted, had been placed a set of fairy-sized night clothes. A quick inspection of the dresser revealed similar sized clothes folded within. Had the servants just put this here, or was the Mud-Man prepared?

Holly decided she was too tired to care. The day had taken its toll on her. She quickly stripped down her tactical gear and got into the provided night clothes before climbing into the gargantuan bed. It could have easily hosted 4 full sized Mud-Men with room to spare. The three foot high Major felt completely lost in all the covers and sheets on the bed.

It wasn't until she had fully settled in and closed her eyes, awaiting sleep to fall, that the events of the day had properly sunk in.

_Oh Frond._ She thought, looking back and seeing a pile of broken shuttle crashing into the grass at high speed in her minds eyes. _Delta squad... Greener, Reeves, Cudgeon..._

Her mind then turned to those who hadn't been in the Wicklow to Fowl Manor chase, but back in Haven, where the danger of being found by Koboi was now a real danger. If they were still alive that is.

_Oh Gods... Foaly..._

They hadn't heard from the eccentric centuar since before they left initially to meet Fowl, and no-one from his tech centre, hiding within the walls of the main cavern had come out after their discovery had become known.

There was still a chance that he had survived, perhaps not even discovered. The LEPL's technical adviser was possibly paranoid to a fault, but it had saved all sf them many a time in the past.

Holly rolled over at the thought of one of her last real friends being killed. Tears didn't come easily to the major, war had put a stop to that, but her heart still clenched at the thought of never seeing him again.


	5. Three: Night Fights

**As usual, Author's Note can be found at the bottom of my profile.**

**Chapter 3 – Night Fights**

**Fowl Manor**

There was little that could be found in Artemis Fowl II's personal study that was not impressive. Not the custom made, personalised mechanical keyboards, with a patented keyswitch system, or the dozen or so computers with custom produced hardware straight from Fowl Industries' labs, not set for consumer production for the next two years to avoid getting too far ahead. Even the chairs, shelves and work surfaces conveyed an impressive aura about them. A warranted one too, as each of these modest pieces of furniture contained more advanced technology than the first few space shuttles. Nothing about the room was anything less than breathtaking and impressive. Nothing but the information displayed on the 27 inch, Fowl Industries AMOLED QSXGA monitor that Artemis Fowl himself was glaring at.

The return from his scans to determine the cause of the seemingly random power fluctuations occurring worldwide had determined nothing.

He had almost resigned himself to trying to following up this seemingly dead end research. It was more of a hobby than an actual assignment. But for the past near 8 years, Artemis had been following the impossibly random trends of power fluctuations happening globally with no apparent cause, effect, or witnesses. Fowl sighed is resignation and gripped the arms of his chair, about to give up for the night, when a thought flickered through his mind. Of course!

The young mastermind grinned wickedly to himself as he settled in for what was in his mind, panning out to be a very revealing night.

The clacking of the custom key-switches began clattering through the quiet of the night. Many find the noise of mechanical keyboards irritating and distracting. To Artemis Fowl, the long repetitive drone of clicks and clacks was nearly as relaxing as any opera or classical piece.

Fowl could feel the progress in his searches creeping up on him, as he was just one hurdle away from running this race to the end. Just as he prepared for that final jump, he stopped. He thought to himself that any realisations that could be made tonight will still be there to be made in the morning, and there was no need to rush into anything. He absentmindedly got up, and flicked the master power switch for the computers, sending the study into darkness, with only the standby lights from various gadgets and gizmos illuminating the way back to his chair. Normally he would never reduce himself to doing something akin to sleeping in an office chair, holding the need for comfortable, undisturbed sleep in a very high regard, but the young billionaire felt he could make an exception just this once. After all, he was _very _tired.

* * *

><p>Thousands upon thousands of dollars could be used to buy a whole world of comfort and relaxation when bed and cover shopping. But all the thread counts in the world couldn't have made for a deep and easy sleep for the lone female Major that night. Sleep had come easily enough. Remaining in that state was proving to be the challenge. Short had resigned herself to laying on her back staring blankly at the ceiling. This proved to be entertaining enough for the first two hours, but quickly after that became decidedly boring.<p>

The next half hour was spent amusing herself by wandering around the giant bedroom that could have held most of her flat. Or, it could have before the whole complex had been levelled in battle.

After having opened every drawer and cupboard door, and looked in every closet and all over the bathroom, turning up nothing of interest or use, she though she might as well see if the rest of the manor held anything that would hold her interest for the last remaining hours of darkness.

She changed into her LEPL gear and made for the door.

Her quest was nearly thwarted before it began as turning the expensive looking knob on the door leading to the rest of the house turned out to be a fruitless endeavour. She scowled at the locked exit for its defiance. She should have known that the Mud-Bastard wouldn't trust them to wander around unsupervised. She wondered if her comrades were in a similar position, but hadn't noticed in the throes of sleep. Or perhaps they had discovered this act of imprisonment and were already causing a fuss. Or better yet, were already out and were seeking revenge on their prison warden.

Not wanting to be left out of a possible coup d'état, she decided to find a way out of her new enclosure. She inspected the wood of the door, and the construction of the frame. At a glance, the door was made out of old, treated wood, with carved patterns scattered across it, and was probably traditionally mounted with basic hinges on a basic wooden frame. Looks could be deceiving though, as a closer look and a few well placed taps with the metal base of a desk lamp revealed that while the door was made out of very old wood, there was likely metal plates or rods reinforcing it from the inside. The frame of the door was just as sturdy as the door itself, and while Major Short had a very distinct memory of the door opening inwards, there was no hinges on this side of the door. There must be some sort of mechanism in-between the sides in the frame that worked as the hinge. There was no way to no for sure though, as no light was allowed to pass through the non-existent gaps between the door and the frame. Holly Short gave the door an annoyed kick as she decided that it would not be worth wasting the effort to try to either force the door open or pry it open. If only she hadn't left her neutrino along with the rest of her equipment with the others the night before.

Giving up on the door, she moved to the other potential exit of the window. A good solid punch or kick should be enough to break through the Mud-Man's primitive glass and allow her to escape this blasted room. One jarred leg and a colourful range of curses later had the major scolding her own lack of foresight. Ballistic glass. She should have known better. Looking at the frame for the windows didn't show anything more than a basic wooden structure, but after the door and bulletproof windows, Holly knew better than to take it for granted.

A few hacks with the desk lamp confirmed her suspicions by finding that under the thin layer of wood, the glass was held in place with hardened steel.

It was about this point where Holly Short really started panicking. She was trapped in a cage with no way of escape and her claustrophobia was beginning to rear its ugly head. She needed to find a way out of here, and quick.

She next went to the fireplaces, and looked up the chimney to see if she could perhaps shimmy her way up and out. But of course, there were heavy iron bars about halfway up, as well as a cover on top.

Looking around the room for anything else, her eyes fell upon the vent up the wall of the room.

Yes, it was cliché, but sometimes things are cliché for a reason.

Due to her height, it took a chair balanced on the bedside table for her to get to eye level with the grill of the heating vent. It would be a close fit, but the Major believed she could make it. Luckily the grill on the vent wasn't nearly as solid as the door and window, the maker probably not expecting to have someone so small attempting to use it, and all it took to get it of was using the ever useful lamp to lever it off from the wall. A few grunts and curses later and the elf was crawling through Fowl Manor's ventilation system with not even a little bit of an idea where she was going.

Rounding the forth corner she came face to face with something that no-one would expect to find in your average ventilation system.

"Oh for fucks sake." Let out the major as the surveillance camera merely stared at her.

* * *

><p>In another part of the manor, a warning sound emitted from a speaker as a monitor displaying a security feed lit up, showing a rousing billionaire the sight of an elf making a quick escape from the camera's field of view.<p>

Rubbing his face and wondering what sequence of events led him to falling asleep in his desk chair but coming up blank, Artemis Fowl decided how to handle this new development.

The intercom came to life, and one of the manor's guards asked what course of action should be taken for their escaping guest.

"Never mind about her. I'll take care of it."

Taking note of where the elf would come out, the poorly rested genius got out of his chair, working at a kink in his upper back while walking to the door. There wasn't time to change into a less crumpled suit, but perhaps just enough to change into something else.

* * *

><p>It took three solid kicks, but eventually Holly got the grate off the wall. She had no idea where she had come out, but she just had to make do with whatever she found herself in.<p>

what she found herself in appeared to be some sort of training room. In the darkness, she could make out padded mats resting against the walls and on the floor. A few punching bags dangled from the roof, and in one corner a stand that various boxing gloves and helmets lay upon.

The Major could see three doors leading away from the training room, so she approached the one closest to her, hoping it wasn't locked. Thankfully, it wasn't, but all she found inside was a collection of martial arts apparel. Trying the next one, she found it locked. A quick shove with her shoulder showed to her that it was stuck in place in a similar manner to the door leading from her bedroom and that there wasn't much hope of getting through that way.

The last door was in a similar state. The Major was just about to get back into the ventilation to see if she could find her way to somewhere that wasn't completely locked off, when she took note of a lingering smell coming from the last door. A smell that reminded her of a tell-tale mixture of sulphur and smoke. Behind the door must be some sort of armoury, or shooting range. That did seem promising. She glanced around the room to see if there was something she could use to force her way through the door, when all of a sudden the overhead lights flickered to life.

"It wouldn't be wise to try and get through that door. The alarms will summon a whole number of unsavoury characters to deal with you."

Turning towards the voice with a start, the perturbed Major saw Artemis Fowl the Second standing lazily in-front of the second door, wearing what appeared to be a white karate gi.

"Do you normally come and train at 4am, or is this a special occasion?" She shot back suspiciously.

"I merely noticed that you seemed to be quite restless, and thought I might come and keep you entertained for a while."

He was now walking towards her. This was very alarming to the elf, and she took a single step back, putting herself in a more balanced position.

"Restless? You locked me in a bloody bedroom Fowl!"

Artemis merely smirked as he drew ever closer to the elf.

"A necessary precaution. We can't just have you all roaming around unsupervised at night. Now, e_n garde__"_

Holly barely had time to duck and roll away as Artemis Fowl's foot flew past her face in a perfect side kick. She quickly got herself facing her attacker in a crouching position, ready to retaliate, but Fowl was already in position, and quick on the offensive. The elf could merely dodge and block as a storm of perfectly executed kicks, punches and jabs rained down upon her. She just blocked a quick jab when she was taken by surprise with a roundhouse kick, sending her stumbling back into a punching bag.

Getting back to her feet quickly and keeping her eyes on her opponent, she got into a combat ready position.  
>"This is your idea of entertainment? Where'd a rich boy like you learn to fight like this anyway?"<p>

Fowl gave a vampire smile as he stood his ground, waiting for the elf to come to him.

"An old friend taught me both the importance of being prepared, and exactly how to be. Sadly he hasn't been available to continue our lessons, but I've been able to make do in the meantime."

"He died?"

"Something like that." He replied vaguely.

Holly began circling the smiling aristocrat, looking for a weakness or an opening. She took note of what she had at first dismissed as thinness from little activity and high metabolism, was actually lean muscle covering the young man's body. Making him both strong and very quick.

"What is it that you're really after Fowl. Why are you helping us? And don't say technology, or gold. We both know you have more than enough of both."

Fowl merely followed her with his eyes as she walked a slow circle around him.

"My my Major. You are awfully suspicious of me. Why can't we just get along?"

"In just the last night you've locked me in a bedroom with no way out, and then you attacked me when I got out? Why the hell should I trust you?"

"Please don't take all that to heart Major Short. I had to keep you in your rooms for the night. For your own safety as much as anything else. As for attacking you, you can't say you're not enjoying yourself a little bit."

Holly scowled and leapt at the Mud-Man from behind him, ready to lay into him.

Only to be subdued by a lightning fast back-kick.

The retaliation sent her sprawling, but Major Short did not get where she was by giving up. She went right back at him, this time weaving under his quick left punch, diving behind him and and bringing him down with a fist into the back of his knee.

Before she could further the damage, he rolled away from her, and springing back onto his feet in a kip-up.

"Not exactly orthodox, but effective nonetheless."

"I suppose that's something they don't teach you in rich-kid karate class. You don't always fight orthodox. In the real world there is no duelling or sparring. You fight, and you fight to win."

"I suppose. But why can't we have both?"

Nearly faster than she could see, the young genius levelled the elf with an axe-kick coming down on her, and pinning her to the floor, a foot on her neck.

"There is something that would be prudent of you to remember Major. And that is that you and others may fight to win." His tone took on a steely quality, with cold blue eyes to match. "But I'm Artemis Fowl. And I always win."

Holly gasped trying to get his foot off of her neck. She needed oxygen quickly. She was already starting to see spots in her vision. But his leg was staying firmly in place.

"Do you yield, Holly?"

The subdued elf quickly nodded her surrender, and Fowl removed his foot from her neck with a smirk.

"You might not want to get up for a moment. I'm afraid you might pass out. Once you're ready, you may return to your room. I'll leave the door unlocked for you"

He started walking towards the exit, leaving the elf on the ground, gasping for air.

Just as he opened the door, Major Short called out to him.

"At least answer me this Fowl. Why do you seem familiar to me? Why does it seem like we've met before?"

Without even turning to face her, Artemis let out a laugh.

"Why, because we have of course."

And with that he left the training room, leaving a confused and disorientated elf in his wake.

* * *

><p>Later in the morning, a maid stopped by Major Short's room to let her know that her master was hosting a meeting in the conference room in half an hour.<p>

Holly hadn't slept a wink in the few hours she had lain in the oversized bed, and had been mulling over the events that had taken place in the training room, and what had been said, as well as what hadn't been. She trudged her way blearily over to the bathroom and had a quick shower, which did little to wake her up more, but did give her a chance to admire her newly claimed bruises. She made a mental note to pay back that arrogant son of a bitch when she had the chance.

After changing back into her LEPL tactical gear, she headed down to see what that bastard had to say.

She pushed through the door to the conference room to find all of her comrades already seated, with Artemis Fowl standing at the head of the large table, looking unusually chipper in his expensive black suit for someone who had a disturbed sleep.

"Ah, Major Short, I'm glad you could make it."

Holly said nothing as she put herself down in the empty seat by the Commander.

"Well then. Now that we're all here, I suppose we can begin. Now, first of all, there is the matter of your accommodation. While I would like to keep you on the grounds for the meantime, I fear that staying inside the manor itself will not be a good permanent arrangement, as has been kindly pointed out by one of your fellow soldiers."

There was a moment of muttering and glances as each member of the table wondered who and what he was talking about. All except for one Major, who was looking straight down to avoid the anger displaying itself to the rest.

"I would also like to mention that I am allowing you to seek refuge on my property in my own goodwill, and I will not take kindly to those abusing my hospitality."

At this, he was looking pointedly at Holly. The others noticed the direction of his gaze, and turned to look at her themselves, curiosity etched onto their faces.

Holly raised her head to the human looking at her and said angrily "abusing your hospitality? You locked us in our bloody rooms you piece of shit!"

Artemis looked sternly at the enraged elf.

"I would advise you not interrupt so rudely again Major. If there is something you wish to say, you may bring it up in a calm manner."

Holly stood up, fists clenched, ready to go at the Mud-Man in-front of her.

"No, for once, you're going to be straight with us, and tell us what it is you're in this for!"

She took a determined step towards the glaring genius, ready to show him how enraged at him she was.

"Major _sit down!_."

Without a second thought, Holly fell back into her seat.

"I wanted to avoid this, but do remember Short, that you are in my house, and you must abide by my rules while here. Now, as it seems that some of us are unable to contain our emotions at the moment, I'm afraid we will have to finish this meeting prematurely. We will continue again once we've all calmed down. Thank you."

And with that, Artemis picked up his folder from the table and walked out the side door.

Once he had exited, Commander Root turned to the angry Major.

"Short, what in Frond's name was that about?"

"Sir, did you try to leave your room at any point last night?"  
>Root looked at her inquisitively.<p>

"I can't say I did. Why?"

"He locked us into our rooms. Why would he do that? I don't trust him. He hasn't been straight with us since we met in E12."

The Commander sighed.

"Look Short, I know you don't trust him, and frankly I don't either. But he's helped us in a lot of ways so far, and we don't have a lot of choices. For now we'll just go along with it, but always be on guard. That's all I'm going to say for now."

Holly had something ready to retort to the Commander, when the same maid that came to her earlier came in the room.

"Major Short? The master wishes to see you in his study."

Warily, Holly followed the maid out of the conference room and down a hallway until they stopped in-front of a door that appeared to have no handle or any other means of opening.

The maid just looked towards the door and said "Sir, I have the Major for you."

The door gave a click and the maid gestured for Holly to enter.

Cautiously she pushed the door open, and walked into Fowl's study, suitably interested by the impressive by the range of technology and equipment. For a Mud-Man, anyway. She looked around the room until her eyes fell upon the only other occupant, sitting in his desk chair, eyeing her curiously.

"What do you want Fowl?" Holly gave off, not bothering to disguise her dislike for the human.

"As a matter of fact, what I want is to give you something you want. I've giving some thought to some of the things you've said, and I've decided that we've gotten off entirely on the wrong foot. So I'd like to ease some of this tension between us."

The Major looked at him suspiciously.

"What do you mean?"

Artemis returned her look with a smile.

"Do you still want to know what I want to get out of our alliance?"


End file.
